Chapter 6

Claire looked at her phone again. It was sat on the passenger seat, sliding around with each stop-start of the car. The screen remained blank; impassive to Claire's concerns and unwilling to ease her frustration with a friendly ping. She drummed the steering wheel with her fingers as she waited at yet another red light. Rain beat her windscreen and made her yearn for a warm blanket. The sound of the wipers desperately flailing at their maximum speed only made their futile efforts even more pathetic. She gripped the gearstick and forced it back into first. I'm definitely getting an automatic next time, she thought.

Twisting her wrist, she saw that the time was now two pm. Her thoughts took centre stage. Jim should most definitely be at work, and there are far too many people around for a weekday. She decided that everyone, and everything, was really getting on her nerves today. Clenching her jaw she drove ahead, feeling as though everyone else was driving far too slowly and why were there so many cars today? Probably because it's pouring down, she decided, and no one is stupid enough to walk.

Public transport in the UK, especially 200 miles from London, could never be described as efficient or user-friendly. Buses were infrequent and expensive. Taxis: extortionate. And, the less said about trains the better. In this part of the world, you only got a bus if you really had to. The car was still king. If only the roads were well-maintained and there were some empty parking spaces in any location. Claire's mind wandered back to her holiday in Barcelona last year, and how easy it had been to get around the city. Their underground system seemed miles ahead of anything else she had used. Even Jim seemed to enjoy the travelling around. Usually, getting him to do anything that involved moving his legs was impossible. All he wanted to do was play video games and sleep. In Barcelona, however, he was a different person. He wanted to see everything, and was even enthusiastic about seeing the art and street performers. He seemed to know more about Antoni Gaudi than she expected, although her expectations on that matter were fairly low. He took countless photos of the Casa Batllo, commenting on how difficult it must have been to get the glass and brickwork to curve in such a way.

Thinking about Jim like that made her smile. He was so much more than he let anyone else see. Almost everyone who knew him thought he was grumpy. Funny sometimes, but grumpy nonetheless. He avoided social situations like the plague, and could always be counted on to say, 'maybe' to an invitation then definitely not attend. Some people even thought he was rude because he rarely answered a question with more than two or three words. She knew better, though, and he was actually very thoughtful when you could elicit a response. His responses just tended to be less frequent than other people's.

Another red light appeared in the distance, so Claire slowed down using her gears, hoping that she'd arrive at the lights in time for them to change back to green. No such luck, however, and she was forced to come to a complete standstill again. The lights turned from red to amberhow very considerateas soon as she'd applied the handbrake. Back into first gear she went. Definitely an automatic, she confirmed in her mind. She soon approached a roundabout, which she hated. Someone was always in the wrong lane. Making it across without incident, she pressed hard on the accelerator as her car came onto the dual-carriageway. She was halfway along it when her phone made a ping sound. Her heart leapt into her chest and started pounding, although she could not rationally explain why. Checking that the road ahead was still empty, she looked at her phone on the seat next to her and grabbed it. She glanced at the message on the screen:

Your next bill is available to view.

Payment is due on the 1st of the month.

Thank you for being a loyal customer.

"Oh, fuck off."